Rachel Maddow is making waves for an outburst aimed at her own network for airing former President Donald Trump’s victory speech after Tuesday’s Iowa Caucus.
After MSNBC cuts away from Trump's speech, Rachel Maddow talks about the "balance between allowing someone to knowingly lie on your air about things they've lied about before."
Another panelist says "Why don't we fact-check the hell out of him?" pic.twitter.com/HcKVLYKY9x
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 6, 2024
After Trump’s string of Super Tuesday victories, he is now the de facto Republican nominee.
His win in the Iowa Caucus was particularly decisive, with the results called just half an hour after the polls opened.
‘I feel great,’ Trump told Fox News. ‘I am greatly honored by such an early call. It really is an honor that, minutes after, they’ve announced I’ve won – against very credibly competition, great competition, actually…it is a tremendous thing and a tremendous feeling.’
Trump’s victory speech aired on Fox News and was partially seen on MSNBC, before Maddow’s interruption. Fox’s viewership that night more than doubled MSNBC’s.
MSNBC cut away from their coverage of the speech after the results of the Iowa Caucus came in to highlight Maddow’s frustration with her network for airing a presidential candidate she didn’t agree with.
“I will say that it is a decision that we revisit constantly in terms of the balance between allowing somebody to knowingly lie on your air about things they’ve lied about before and you can predict they are going to lie about. And so, therefore, it is irresponsible to allow them to do that. It’s a balance between knowing that that’s irresponsible to broadcast and also knowing that as the de facto, soon to be de facto nominee of the Republican Party, this is not only the man who is likely to be the Republican candidate for president, but this is the way he’s running,” Maddow said.
In regards to the speech itself, Maddow took it upon herself to decide what viewers should and shouldn’t hear, saying, “At this point in the evening, the projected winner of the Iowa caucuses has just started giving his victory speech. We will keep an eye on that as it happens. We will let you know if there is any news made in that speech if there is anything noteworthy, something substantive and important.”
As Maddow acknowledged herself, it’s unfair not to broadcast a de facto presidential nominee, but she feels that it’s “irresponsible” to broadcast speeches that could contain lies. Of course, if MSNBC adhered to that standard, they wouldn’t have much to talk about, since it would bar the network from airing politicians’ speeches in general.
It would also likely get Maddow herself removed from the air, as she’s been a huge proponent of several high-profile lies, such as the disproved conspiracy theory that Trump colluded with Russia, and the claim that COVID-19 vaccines prevent transmission of the virus.
As it stands, MSNBC already has little interest in equally representing both sides of the political aisle, but the push not to allow their top political opponent to be heard raises questions.
If Maddow doesn’t feel that a fact check is enough to convince viewers of her side’s superiority, then maybe it’s time that her viewers look a little deeper for the truth.
